Effects of different modes of classroom video presentations on attitudes and knowledge of eighth-grade history students
Abstract
This research investigated ways to utilize Video Cassette Technology (VCR) effectively to highlight and emphasize important facts and concepts to enhance knowledge acquisition and to stimulate student interest and involvement in the process of learning American history. Employing a hypothesis-testing design, the researcher tested two different modes of classroom video presentation on heterogeneous classes of eighth-grade social studies students. In addition, the relationship of student attitudes toward video presentations and the instructional modes was also examined through use of a researcher-generated attitude scale. The two modes of video presentation used in the study were (a) controlled viewing, which exploited the control characteristics of video cassettes and VCRs, i.e., use of segments, clear stopping points, frame freeze, and instant playback initiated by the classroom teacher; and (b) continuous viewing, which provided a continuous linear playthrough that was uninterrupted by the classroom teacher. The sample for this study consisted of 168 middle school students in a suburban public school. Three social studies teachers each taught two heterogeneous classes using the controlled video mode and two heterogeneous classes using the continuous video mode. Students in all the classes were administered the comprehension subtest of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Level 7-9, and were classified on the basis of mean scores into three reading levels--low, middle, and high. The subject matter for this study was a documentary video on the 1920s in American history. The assessment instrument was a researcher-generated knowledge test given to students after the presentation of the video. The knowledge test had been assessed for appropriateness, reliability, and concurrent validity in a feasibility study prior to the treatment. The relationship of student attitudes toward video presentations and instructional modes was examined through the use of a researcher-generated attitude scale that was administered prior to the video presentation and after the video presentation. The attitude scale had been assessed for appropriateness, reliability, and concurrent validity in a feasibility study prior to the treatment. Conclusions based on the findings of the study were that students on all three levels of reading (low, middle, and high) had significantly greater knowledge of videotape content when they viewed the teacher-controlled videotape than when they viewed the continuous videotape with no teacher intervention, and that student preferences for viewing modes and attitudes toward video viewing did not have an effect on knowledge of the content of the video and on student response to the two modes of video viewing.
Subject Area
Social studies education|Mass media|Curricula|Teaching
Recommended Citation
Zuckerman, Grace, "Effects of different modes of classroom video presentations on attitudes and knowledge of eighth-grade history students" (1995). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI9543467.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI9543467
